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Arrived at Belconnen Mall / DIMIA carparks at 8:25am today but found no
Superb Parrots until I saw c. 20 overhead that seemed to be descending towards
Lake Ginninderra. Ten minutes later, at 8:50am, I found small, loose groups
further south feeding in carpark trees behind the old Benjamin Offices. At a
guesstimate, fifty birds, almost all female and immatures.
Saw two instances of mature males feeding a youngster. Enjoyed
wonderful, close views of the event. Before commencing feeding, and a couple of
times during feeding, the parent bird moved its head in a jerking, roughly
circular motion for about 10 seconds, before regurgitating to junior. The head
movements were such that, had I not known what was going on, I would have
thought the bird was experiencing some kind of physical distress. During the 20
minutes I watched the groups I didn't see a female feeding young.
I noticed that some of the immature birds appeared remarkably young i.e.
very short tail feathers indeed. I wonder how far these little dodgers traveled
from where they hatched?
John K. Layton.
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